Tensions in the tripartite alliance in the Western Cape have flared anew with a stinging rebuke to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) by the chairperson of the African National Congress in the province, James Ngculu.
In a letter published in the Cape Times on Thursday, Ngculu says Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich ”has a quote a minute for journalists desperate to spice up stories, even on issues he knows nothing about”.
”Of course, this antic has become his character,” he says.
His attack follows Ehrenreich’s criticism earlier this week of an incident in which city police were called in to disperse a group of noisy ANC dissidents outside an ANC provincial council meeting in Gugulethu.
Ehrenreich said state agencies should not be used in matters that serve ”factions within government”, and called for a probe.
However, Ngculu says in the letter that the hall was city property, that there were fears it might be damaged and that the police used minimum force to move the protesters into the street.
”Ehrenreich was not present. This demonstration had nothing to do with any factions in the government or the ANC,” he says. ”The provincial leadership is united.
”In future, Ehrenreich should keep quiet about issues he knows nothing about, or consult with his alliance partners before publicly attacking them.”
Ngculu earlier this week rejected criticism over the incident from the South African Communist Party in the province. — Sapa